UK law firm Irwin Mitchell has appointed partner Guy Sackett as its new head of real estate. Sackett is replacing Adrian Barlow, who is retiring from the partnership.
In addition, Garrath Reayer has been appointed new head of residential property, following the retirement of Jeremy Raj earlier this year.
Irwin Mitchell’s real estate and residential property teams together number 25 partners and have over 130 qualified staff working from nine offices across the UK.
Sackett joined the firm in 2015 following its merger with Thomas Eggar and is a real estate development lawyer with over 25 years’ experience in commercial and residential development. Prior to his new national head role, he led the firm’s southern real estate division.
Sackett’s focus over the past five years has been on large scale residential and mixed-use regeneration schemes. He also has significant expertise in the strategic land and student accommodation sectors, and acts for a number of leading developers, promoters and operators.
He brings strong hands-on experience to the new role together with strategic knowledge of the real estate sector, strong client relationships and a track record of success in the transactional arena, according to the firm.
Commenting on his appointment, Sackett said; 'I am excited to be taking over the reins of IM’s real estate division at a time when the new government’s policies are fixed firmly on addressing the housing crisis and delivering on planning and environmental reform. All of these play to IM’s strengths and provide us with a great platform for growth.'
Reayer joined the firm in 2015 following its merger with Thomas Eggar and has over 25 years’ experience in the high net worth / ultra-high net worth London and South-East property markets. Garrath’s particular area of expertise lies in the secured lending sector of the residential market, working alongside top financial institutions.
Commenting on his appointment, Reayer said: 'I am obviously very excited to be appointed to the role. We have a well-established, experienced and very dedicated Team who work tirelessly for our clients.
'I am extremely confident that we will build on the Team’s existing strong foundations. It is an exciting time to be a part of Irwin Mitchell with the firm going from strength to strength!'
